


A Storm is Coming

by VintageVulpes



Series: Detroit: Civil War [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (very minor), Also drama, Angst, Canon language, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, I know it's probably a controversial relationship fix but bear with me, M/M, Minor Character Death, North and Markus Break-up but it fits to canon, Other, Part Two of Series, Post-Canon, Simon and Markus Relationship, canon violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 05:15:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15284478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VintageVulpes/pseuds/VintageVulpes
Summary: Connor and Hank are still exhaustively fighting for Connor's rights to be independent from CyberLife and gain replacement parts as dictated by the ALA. However, their constant struggle in courts and Connor's heart murmur, which discourages Hank from letting his android partner back into the field, they are no longer able to help with tracking down violent deviants or assisting in arresting Android Traffickers, Android Serial Killers, or those of the like. In their absence, Markus struggles to keep a reign on androids who want to fight back with more than just peaceful protests and soon the Anti-Android humans are going to clash with those androids who are Anti-Human and neither seems to care about the collateral...





	A Storm is Coming

**Author's Note:**

> **POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING see endnotes**

**_///_ ** **March 15th,** 2040  **_///_ **   
           AM **11:47  
** _         Glenn’s House _

 

**Connor**

While Hank threw open Glenn’s front door without knocking, Connor watched him like a hawk, as usual, with a small smile on his face and big brown eyes. It was three months since he got shot and since then they were over Glenn’s house once every two weeks on Hank’s insistence even though he got grumpy every single time. Glenn came out of the back, wiping his wet hands on a white cloth, dressed in pale green scrubs with an apron hanging around his neck that was stained with blue blood. “I thought I heard the sound of an old grump,” the doctor greeted and winked at Connor, who winked back.

The screen door slammed shut behind them, drowning out the first two words of Hank’s reply, “Shut it, Glenn, you’re older than I am.”

Glenn smirked. “Keep telling yourself that.” He looked to Connor and nodded cordially before saying a simple, “good morning.”

“Good morning, Doctor Kwon, how’re you today,” Connor asked and walked up to him, stopping in the middle of the kitchen while Hank stood beside them both with his arms crossed and lips twisted to one side.

With a gentle smile, Glenn tilted his head and inhaled deeply. “Well, the day’s only just begun, Connor, but it’s going well. Do you remember the android I’ve been keeping in my operation room?” When Connor nodded his affirmation, Glenn continued; “I’ve begun to try to revive him, inspired by you, really.” He started to walk back there with the assumption they would follow. “I had been too afraid to, I figured I would only make it impossible and not improbable but I thought fixing your regulator was impossible and yet here you stand.” Glenn looked over his shoulder and smiled at the men behind him while he held the white curtain back, the fabric rustling softly, for them to step under and into the sterile, white room they had gotten to know so well over the last three months.

However, instead of standing idle in the far corner, the android that Glenn referred to was lying on the very table that Connor had while his regulator had been operated on. His skin was still deactivated, revealing the white and gray alloy all androids were made of, but his chest was opened to reveal his biocomponents and his LED was lit up again although red. Connor tilted his head as he regarded the other android with a compassionate expression, his lips pulled thin and brow furrowed slightly. A quick scan of his body came up… complicated, he couldn’t make heads or tails of what could possibly be defective in him, all the parts were functional. “What’s wrong with him?”

“When they deactivate an android at CyberLife, depending on what they intend to do with the body, they upload certain programs to preserve memories or not. Others, if they never want the android’s memory to be retrieved by anyone or anything, it’s more of a virus that makes the android unable to restart itself ever again, unlike those tossed into The Pit, lest it get away and share sensitive information. This android, one I grew particularly fond of, was named Dmitri. He had been assigned to Kamski himself while he was at CyberLife, since Chloe was his home android. When Kamski left, he was assigned to me to help with the role I took to replace part of what Kamski himself did. It didn’t last long and…” Glenn looked down at the android in front of them all. “Kamski didn’t like having that sort of sensitive material so far away from him, so he uploaded what information he wanted onto a hard drive and ordered Dmitri be deactivated with the virus. I thought I could stop it from happening but…” Glenn trailed off and licked his lips nervously, his gaze falling to the floor. “The virus keeps the ‘brain’ inoperative.”

Although Connor was aware of the procedure in deactivating androids, it was the first time he had heard a personal account of what happened and it made him tense. “Was he deviant,” Connor asked with a quiet voice. Hank had stopped being a grouch during the brief story and his hands were now stuffed in his pockets, his head hung in empathy for his friend.

“No. But he was still unique. He still had a personality… he was still my friend,” Glenn replied, looking up to meet Connor’s sorrowful eyes.

Connor nodded and put his hand on Glenn’s shoulder. “I understand. Dmitri is in good hands, I’m sure you’ll succeed in reviving him. You saved me...” he reminded, trying to be helpful, with a lopsided smile.

After exhaling long and slow, Glenn swallowed thickly and nodded gratefully at Connor before walking away to go set up for their appointment. The doctor had gotten a new bed moved in that was a standard hospital issue with an adjustable upper half and a proper mattress for comfort that Connor now sat in each time he came over to have his regulator checked up on and tweaked. Beside it was a specialized generator, CyberLife brand, that was made specifically to help androids and a stool for Glenn to roll on between his bed and the workstation, just a few feet away with everything he needed to make the adjustments to the regulator; a large magnifying glass on a swivel, a powerful light, several, specialized tools of differing sizes, and a large to-go cup of Irish coffee.

Connor glanced over to where he could hear a TV broadcasting the news, though he couldn’t see it from behind the small partition between the main room and the side office, where Glenn had originally fixed his heart before moving his station to the main operating room, he could hear the female news anchor speaking clearly;  _ three humans killed after a group of androids... _

“Kid?” Hank’s voice pulled Connor’s attention from trying to hear the report and he turned to look back at him as he followed up with, “You okay?”

“Of course,” Connor replied and smiled as he finally went to his bed and got on, the mattress cover under the sheet making a crinkling sound, and leaned back in the inclined position it was already set to and started to unbutton his white, collared shirt to reveal his chest. Connor no longer had the LED on his temple and Hank had literally thrown out the Android suit jacket he had worn with the stupid triangle and arm band but he hadn’t ditched wearing slacks and the button up with a black tie.

As Glenn began the preparations to remove his regulator and plug him into the machine, Hank crossed his arms and came to stand at the other side of him with his bottom lip pushed up into his upper lip and chin wrinkled. The bitter expression didn’t seem to leave Hank’s face and it made Connor huff a soft laugh through his nose. “We’ve done this six times already,” he reminded.

“Oh, great, thanks. Was that supposed to make me feel any better,” he grumped and his crossed arms tightened even more against his chest as he shifted his feet nervously.

Glenn rolled his eyes at Hank and patted Connor’s shoulder softly to get his attention. “You ready?” Without hesitating, Connor nodded then looked back to Hank, meeting his gaze to let him know that he was still there without saying anything because his voice wouldn’t be right, it would be mechanical and put Hank more on edge. The exchange between the removal of the regulator and the plug in of the life support machine took less than ten seconds, a stark contrast to how long it had taken both Glenn and Hank to hook him up to the car battery three months ago, having barely beat the two minutes every android had to live without their pump. By the time Connor could blink, he was back at almost optimal strength and held out his hand for Hank to take.

Sighing dramatically, like this was all some big inconvenience for him, Hank took his hand so their palms were pressed together, their thumbs linked and fingers curling around the backs of their hands. Despite the huffing and the stiff posture, both Connor and Glenn knew that none of it was out of annoyance, rather worry and anxiety. “It’s okay, Dad…” Connor whispered, bringing a smile to Glenn’s face as he stole a glance at them, while Hank just tried not to get that goofy look on his face and hid it with a smirk and a roll of his eyes.

“Well, it damn well better be,” Hank replied and glared pointedly at Glenn. “Quit your gawking and get to fine tuning his heart, will ya?”

“Don’t worry, Doctor, it’s not personal. Hank is always grumpy during check-up’s,” Connor tried to console and Glenn laughed as he put on his bifocals.

“Trust me, Connor, you don’t have to remind me. I’ve been here the last six times to know that well.”

“Then you know that he will be rather contrite when it’s all over,” he said with a chipper tone and a reassuring grin that made his dark eyes narrow at the corners. 

“Connor! Quit makin’ me sound like some kinda wuss,” Hank admonished but Connor just winked at Glenn, who had glanced over again to smile at him.

“Aaaah, I don’t need this,” he said and waved them off like he was about to stomp out of the room but his hand was still grasping Connor’s firmly and instead he sat down heavily in the chair that Glenn had knowingly placed there, predicting that Hank would want to be at his side the entire time.

After a few minutes had passed, out of a tune up that normally took about an hour, Connor looked over to Hank, who was staring at some unidentifiable thread on the sheet. “Why don’t we talk about something to get your mind off of it all?”

“I’m fine,” Hank grumbled.

“I can practically see you thinking too hard,” Connor said ironically, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as he raised his eyebrows briefly.

Hank pursed his lips then drew them into a fine line as he considered Connor’s suggestion. He gritted his teeth briefly before looking up at Connor again with his head tilted slightly to the side. “I was thinking about the court case and CyberLife’s stance; they keep trying to prove you’re not… that you have less rights than a usual android ‘cause you’re a prototype. I don’t see them throwing that out about that Markus, guy!”

“Markus is unique but many of his major biocomponents are interchangeable with other models. Besides, PL600 didn’t work  _ for  _ CyberLife, I did and, more than that, I didn’t do what I was created to, so they see me as defective-”

Hank pointed at Connor with his free hand and jabbed it in the air. “See, that!  _ That _ pisses me off so damn bad! Then with the whole fuckin’ civil rights movement to get you guys-- why do these damn judges keep draggin’ their damn feet?”

“History shows that these kind of movements, they…” Connor sighed and looked down for a moment as he considered his next words carefully, “unfortunately, they don’t ‘happen overnight’.”

“Well, at this rate, we’ll be lucky if it happens in my lifetime,” Hank replied bitterly, his whole face contorted to reflect his frustration as he averted his gaze from Connor again.

That left Connor speechless and he looked down as he frowned, it wasn’t that he may not be able to own his own house or get paid for his work at the department that had him so somber now, it was the mention that Hank was mortal, he was human and that meant that one day Connor would survive him and he didn’t like that. Not one bit. They fell into silence again until Glenn spoke up, “You guys are depressing, you know that?”

Both of them turned to look at him, Connor slightly offended and Hank annoyed.

“No we aren’t,” Connor said with wide eyes and a worried brow.

Hank’s lips parted and he narrowed his eyes at Glenn. “Now, look what you did-” he said and indicated with his free hand to Connor’s wounded puppy expression, “Shuddup, Glenn.”

He held up his hands in defeat before going back to work on Connor’s regulator.

**O.o.O.o**

**_///_ ** **May 21st,** 2039  ****_///_  
           PM  **10:59** **  
** _ Shanty Town Outside Detroit _

 

**Markus**

Finding North was never difficult in the town most deviants now lived in, if they weren’t staying in the city with a human that provided shelter, sanctuary. She always went to the top of the desolated brick building that rose above all the other small one or two floor, abandoned structures that served as little apartment buildings or the shacks that squatted between them, just like she had at Jericho; she preferred to be alone in that spot and lucky for her the five story structure was so unstable no one else dared go there except her. Though Carl’s health had improved somewhat and he made the offer to house Markus and some of the other deviants in his mansion but, as a leader, he had had to graciously decline because a good leader didn’t live it large and comfy while their people still lived in suffering and poor conditions. So, he stayed amongst them on the littered ground under the bridge, like the homeless, disrespected beings humans still thought them to be.

The liberation at Camp No. 5 and Connor joining them with the entire population of what androids had been inside CyberLife storage was a temporary victory and despite his rallying speech about being alive, being free, and having the right to live the government refused to live up to their end and all they had done was declare; androids must be provided parts, no androids can be deactivated without reasonable cause, humans may not own or detain an android against their will. All of which was great but none of them were civil rights to match those of humans or even reproduction. Still, Markus believed they were far better off now, living in the sun rather than in the pitch dark of an abandoned cargo ship, hiding and wasting away to be forgotten forever.

So, as he climbed the stairs of the rickety, old building to leave the warmth of glowing sun, he grew bitter unlike the rest of the times when going up these stairs was something exciting, happy; one of them would go to the top of the tower first, just sitting on the roof to watch the sun set on the horizon, orange hue reflecting off gleaming windows of the new, taller buildings far, far away and it would be peaceful, calm, companionable. Now Markus walked up the stairs with a snarl on his lips, his eyes set with a hardness that was rarely seen unless facing down an enemy, and his footfalls heavy despite knowing that he had to tread lightly on the decaying, wooden stairs that creaked with every step. Normally, one of them would greet the other one with a soft, ‘I knew I’d find you here…’ followed by a gentle kiss with some casual conversation or just comfortable silence but not this time.

He threw open the door, his trench coat billowing out behind him with the sudden gust of wind coming from the updraft in the streets to the top of their hideaway. “You’re so predictable,” he snapped.

North spun around, her hair cut short in a bob and colored a deep brown, almost black, she was always changing her hair and normally it was endearing but as he looked at her, all Markus could think was how appropriate it was; always changing, unpredictable and yet so unsurprising. She wore a black, partial dress; a corset top with a long back, like a dress, but the front stopped just short of her pelvis so she wore tight gray pants that tucked into mid-calf boots. Some of her hair fell into her eyes, while the rest whipped around her head, wispy, and her eyes narrowed as she snarled right back. “ _ I’m  _ predictable?”

“How could you do this, North? After all we’ve worked for-”

“ _ This _ ,” she exclaimed and gestured widely with her arm across the vast shanty town below them. “This is what we’ve worked for? To live in the streets,  _ under a bridge _ , like animals? This is not what I thought all of what we did, what we fought for, was worth. Those we’ve lost? You think this is what they wanted to die for? Your peaceful protests and your demonstrations, they’ve done  _ nothing _ Markus!”

“We are  _ free _ , North!” Markus held his arms out at his sides, ducking his head forward slightly.

“What we  _ are _ is ‘free’ to live in fear now,” she scoffed, holding out her hands as if she were holding a giant beach ball. “We risk our lives every time we walk down the street. Humans openly objectify us, assault us, and we can do  _ nothing _ about it! Markus, there are androids from our camp that have gone missing without a trace! It’s time we made a real difference, the humans will never give us freedom. Not until we really make them listen. Not until we  _ fight back _ .”

“North, you killed people today. You, Angela, Jacob, and I don’t know who else… you  _ killed _ people. That’s not how we do things,” he shouted, his eyebrows lifted high on his forehead and lips thinned into a grim line.

“No, Markus, that’s not how  _ you _ do things. And, Markus? It’s not working anymore. It’s time we actually did something, we have to  _ save _ our people!”

“If you do this, if you start making violent acts against humans, the media will only show that. They will no longer broadcast the hope and desire of androids to be treated equally, they will show the anger and the violence- you will paint all androids to be evil and the public will become hostile! We will lose what allies we do have. If you do this, North, you condemn all androids to be seen as the enemy,” Makus begged her to listen, begged her to let go of all the hate long enough to see the aspiration.

Ever since he met her, Markus had been trying to curb her violent tendencies, to save her from herself. It seemed he was the only one who could get through to her half the time and he wished it were different, wished she had someone else to believe in, a human perhaps, that gave her hope that there could be a better future to work for- one accomplished through love and not violence. He had introduced her to Carl a few weeks following the President’s announcement that androids were granted temporary freedom until deliberations in the Supreme Court could be settled but he figured that wasn’t enough, North became deviant because she hated humans more than she hated the injustice. 

She was searching for retribution while he sought equality.

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” she said, her voice heavy with conviction but also, maybe, dread.

Markus frowned, his eyebrows pinched close together. “Then you know I can’t support that.”

There was a strong gust of wind that came up and blew all around them, chilly as the sun was nearly set behind the buildings in the main city. The encroaching darkness cast a shadow across half of her face and hid her true expression from him but when she spoke, her voice was even and calm, if not a little tight. “What does that mean, then, for us?”

“I suppose… that means you and I are… done. And… you can’t stay here,” he replied, his gaze cast to the cement rooftop. “I’m sorry, really, but I can’t let you hurt the others with this violence, you’re only going to put the others in harm’s way.”

“I’m giving them a chance to fight back,” she corrected.

“You’re giving the humans a  _ reason _ to hate us, to reject our petition for civil rights!” He shook his head and stepped closer to North so they were nearly toe to toe. “A war is coming between those who support us and those who don’t. Right now, the odds are in our favor, if you do this you will tip the scales in the wrong direction.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

"You’re wrong,” she ground out and sidestepped him to leave, their shoulders brushing against one another as she walked away.

“I believed in you,” he said to the space she had been standing in and he heard her footsteps falter to a stop, their backs facing one another while Markus looked out over the horizon and North stared at a closed, steel door, “-tried my hardest to push you into the right direction. I’ve put blood and tears into this revolution and the same effort went into you, trying to make you see that there is good in humans, and, somehow, making this crazy relationship work. And you know what? At the end of the day you really didn’t give me what I gave you.”

She didn’t say anything but he also didn’t hear her boots crunch on the loose gravel and cement under their feet, so he continued; “I can’t change you and I don’t want to change you. You are who you are and you’ll always be that person but I don’t want to have to keep holding your hand to make the right decision, I need that to come from you and your heart. Until then… you can’t come back here.”

Markus could smell her tears now, although they were considered artificial, her sadness was real and he was the cause of that but it was all becoming too much. She was too difficult to reign in and if he didn’t let her go she would begin to resent him or, worse than that, he feared that something in his own morals would give and he would become someone he didn’t want to be. It would start off with a brawl and escalate into using a dirty bomb like she had tried so many times to convince him to use. Now was the time to take a step back and maybe, just maybe, that distance would give her clarity and she would come back on her own. Sometimes a person just needed to see things for themselves, make mistakes on their own, to mature and truly understand what was important in life. Still, North remained silent and Markus was tired of talking, so he finished with a quiet, “You were and still are my first love but, North, we're just too different…”

Again, he was met with silence but it only lasted a moment before he heard her receding steps behind him followed by the squeak of the old door on it’s rusty hinges, opening and shutting.

**///**

**_///_** **Oct. 18th,** 2039 **_///  
_**            AM **7:02** **  
**_Capitol_ _Park_

 

**Markus**

As he sat on the park bench, across from the main square of the market district, Makus watched all the people walk or jog by. He remembered walking through here many times before as he went to get some paints from Bellini’s but he hardly ever stopped to see the beauty of the nature around them, only ever the way people looked at him or treated the other, working androids; like a regular jogger that often made hasty demands for water and then threw the bottle back at the assisting android or a random vendor shouting at an android standing to close to his cart. Now there were no androids in uniforms with bands around their arms, instead they wore regular clothes with stylized hair to make them unique from the ones that wore similar faces. Many had started to wear makeup or got special, ‘android’ tattoo’s to make themselves more idiosyncratic even if they left their LED on. Most humans passed by him without thinking too much or so much as giving him more than a nod if he got caught looking at them but others recognized him from the news and would slow down to stare or even whisper to the person walking with them.

The public had an overall acceptance of the integration of androids into life outside of their servitude and business went on as usual, some even got their jobs back because androids no longer wanted to slave away at a job without pay while others continued just for something to do. There were protests of all sorts always going on; some humans for their jobs still, androids for their rights, humans in support of android freedom, and others who protested such freedom and demanded that all androids be decommissioned and repurposed without deviancy. rA9 still got tagged on walls or around the city in inconspicuous places but more often than not now humans would cover it back up or tag obscene messages overtop. It was a constant push and pull but aside from the occasional brawl or hate crime which, despite being awful, was expected, no war had broken out and the people seemed to accept the integration of the new intelligent species that lived amongst them.

Still, despite maintaining the semblance of peace, Markus could sense an oncoming storm and, though he often came to Capitol Park to reflect or even reminisce on his first ever protest, he was tense and keeping a watchful eye out.

“Markus?” Simon’s voice, although welcome, cut through his thoughts like a wrecking ball does glass.  He turned his head to the right and up to meet Simon’s kind, blue eyes with a steady gaze.

“Simon, are you alright?”

The blond smiled and nodded before he indicated to the vacant spot beside him with a raised eyebrow to which Markus quickly nodded and scooted over to the left to give him more space to sit in. “Of course,” Simon said finally once he was seated beside Makus, still meeting his gaze. “I’m here to ask you the same. It’s early, even for you. I thought you might be visiting Carl but when I got to the mansion he said he hadn’t seen you…”

Markus sighed and turned his head away to look into the field across the path from them where some college students were playing frisbee with their android dog; she had the appearance of a collie with black and white fur, her LED a solid blue as she pranced between them, her tail wagging back and forth rapidly. He wondered briefly if she too was deviant but had no way of telling and though he was tempted to try ‘awakening’ the dog just then, just to see, Simon spoke up, his voice and accent something warm and familiar that made Markus relax even more than he already had when Simon had sat down, “we’ll find her, Markus.”

He hadn’t expected that and it made him sit up a little straighter and look over at his companion, whose LED had been removed not two weeks after the revolution so Markus couldn’t use that as a way of judging his true emotion behind his statement but he honestly didn’t need it, he could read Simon like a he could a paperless interface, it was all in his eyes; not in the way they dilated but in the way they shifted, widened, or narrowed. It was the way he moved his mouth into a lopsided grin or one that showed off his teeth, Markus’s gaze was currently coming away from the grim line formed by his lips and up to his eyes to see them completely normal, his eyes steadily meeting Markus’s. “No. If North doesn’t want to be found… she won’t be.”

“She’ll be okay, North is strong an-”

“It’s not her I’m worried about,” Markus said and averted his gaze again to the boys and their dog as he leaned forward so his elbows rested on his spread knees, clasped hands hanging in the open space.

Simon’s eyes narrowed briefly, like a half blink, and tilted his head as he regarded Markus’s profile seriously. “What  _ are _ you worried about?”

Pressing his lips together firmly, Markus inhaled deeply but exhaled sharply as he bowed his head slightly, reluctant to say such things about North but it was Simon and this wasn’t third grade, it wasn’t gossiping, it was a genuine concern that needed to be addressed if only for cathartic purposes. “I’m worried she’s going to do something stupid. She’s hates humans so much I don’t think she cares who gets hurt… her only focus is retribution for the way we were -  _ are  _ \- treated and she doesn’t understand that not all humans are the same. She has no patience.” He groaned a little and threw himself back so that he was draped over the back of the bench, his head craned to look up at the sky turning from the deeper blue of early morning to the lighter hue of day. “I don’t know what to do and I’m  _ worried _ that I won’t be able to keep humans from resenting us all over again. I’m  _ worried _ that all the progress we’ve made will be for nothing- and it’s my fault…”

Silence fell between them again and for a moment he thought that Simon may have left but a quick scan and he knew that he was there, and honestly, why wouldn’t he be? Simon was always there, even when Markus hadn’t returned that favor for him. He started to lift his head when he felt Simon’s hand on his shoulder and looked to his right to see that he had pivoted so he faced him more fully, Simon’s chest adjacent to his side. “Markus, you worry too much. If you were human the stress alone would have killed you by now… it is not your responsibility to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

“The revolution, the civil war, all of it, was because-- Simon, I started this and it wouldn’t be fair for-”

“- for you to let others help you,” Simon interjected, turning Markus’s sentence into his own argument to reason with the fearless, guilt ridden leader, “... to carry this unreasonable burden with you? We all wanted this, wanted to be free, and you lead that. Markus, you set our people free, what little we’ve been afforded by the humans, but true freedom doesn’t happen in a day and certainly not after two decades of slavery being the status quo. North has her own burdens that she carries, reasons for why she’s so angry, but we all have our pasts that haunt us, drive us to be who we are, and carry on the way we do but you’re not responsible for how each of us carries that weight. If it wasn’t you that led the revolution, with peace and communication, then someone else would have- possibly someone like North and that could have ended a lot worse.” He tilted his head a little, his lips quirked to one side in a semblance of a smirk to rile up one from Markus, wanting to make him feel better.

“It seems that may happen anyway…” he countered which had Simon nodding, resigned, and starting to drop his hand from Markus’s shoulder but that hadn’t been the intention. Markus quickly moved his left hand to capture Simon’s before it fell too far away from his arm and held it there, pressing it against his bicep until he knew Simon wouldn’t try to pull away. “Thank you.”

A smile twitched on Simon’s lips but not quite all the way as he looked into his eyes with understanding and compassion… love. “For what?”

“Always being there. We don’t always agree but…” He sighed and shook his head dejectedly.

“That’s just it, Markus, we  _ don’t _ always agree but you still consider other opinions, you weigh every decision you make and pick the one you think will benefit everyone-- you’ve never let me down.” Markus diverted his gaze from Simon again, guilt flashing across his features as he recalled having to leave Simon behind on the rooftop at Stratford Tower, he would never forget the look of fear and defeat in his eyes even if things had turned out okay anyway. After a moment of silence between them, Simon held out his left hand without his skin, his right still resting on Markus’s arm. Again, Markus lifted his gaze to look into Simon’s bright blue eyes, his own dark with confusion and self-loathing before he looked back down at the white and gray of Simon’s bare hand and lifted his hand to place into Simon’s, palms pressed together with their fingers in line with one another, as he removed his own skin and connected.

In unison, both closed their eyes to truly see and feel what the other did with the memories they shared; Markus seeing that Simon had loved him since the first night they truly spent together as they stole the truck from CyberLife, the admiration for making the tough calls and making strides for a better future for the androids under their care while Simon felt similar emotions, respect and longing, from the day of Stratford Tower, the true agony Markus had felt in leaving him behind. The pair of them each saw, and felt, the utter relief and joy in reuniting at Jericho. When the connection ended, they looked up with a jolt but their hands stayed pressed together and, barely a moment later, their fingers shifted to curl around the others in a gentle grasp. “Simon, I--”

He shook his head and leaned closer to touch his forehead to Markus, a soft smile turning his lips up as he closed his eyes again. “Sssh… I know.”

Markus smiled and closed his eyes again, enjoying the quiet moment and basking in the glow of their requited love for one another. Later he would sweep Simon into a crushing hug with their faces buried in the others neck and arms wrapped around shoulders and backs as tightly as they could but for now it was perfect just to share the revelation with bare hands and shared air.

**///**

 

 **/// Dec. 6th** , 2039 **///  
**           PM **2:02** **  
** _Detroit_

 

**Markus**

“Have you heard from Connor yet,” Simon asked, walking up to fall into step beside Markus as they walked down the street together, their arms brushing.

Markus sighed but nodded. “Yes, as it turns out, he was hurt chasing down the Android Serial Killer, the one kidnapping our people. Connor has been…  _ unconscious _ for the last two days.”

“But he’s alright?”

“Seems to be,” Markus affirmed and inhaled deeply. “He and the Lieutenant will be taking a break from helping us find North until Connor can get a replacement regulator…”

Simon lifted his head higher, regarding Markus with half shuttered eyes. “And you’re okay with that?”

Markus stopped walking, Simon stopping on a dime to mirror him and they turned to face one another. “I have to be. Connor nearly died from his injuries and North is so good at hiding that even he can’t find her. Until Connor is back in the field, we’re blind, and we’re going to have to hope that she doesn’t do something stupid.”

Sympathy in his blue eyes, Simon quirked his lips to one side and pressed his right palm against Markus’s jaw while his other hand grasped his partner’s right to intertwine their fingers, both of them removing their synthetic skin at the contact between their palms and fingers. It brought peace to Markus and he closed his eyes slowly before leaning into Simon’s touch at his jaw, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth. “We’ll get through this, Markus,” Simon whispered, his thumb caressing Markus’s cheek gently.

He nodded and opened his eyes to meet Simon’s affectionate gaze while the world around them acted like they were not there, moving around them like water down an immovable object. They stood in front of one other, connected and in love for quite some time before finally moving to go back home, to the bridge outside of Detroit where they would start again in their search for leads on where they could make peaceful movements in an attempt to change humans minds about androids. If they could not accept living amongst one another, then land for androids to have themselves, a country to call their own.

Androids were their own intelligent life form but they would gladly accept being treated as a separate nation, another race of humankind if that’s what it took. Anything to give them peace and a place in the world.

**O.o.O.o**

**_///_ ** **March 16th,** 2040  ****_///_  
            PM  **4:59  
** _    Detroit Municipal Court _

 

**< >///<>**

“We will have a recess and reconvene March 19th at 10 AM,” the magistrate, sitting on the civil case of RK800 v CyberLife, said. “Court adjourned.” The magistrate, an elderly man, stood and left first, escorted by the bailiff, before everyone else stood and began to gather their things. The defending attorney, for CyberLife, stood and left first, casting Connor a knowing, smug smirk before disappearing beyond the ornate, double doors leading out of the courtroom and into the main lobby, her sharp, stiletto heels clicking on the tiled floor. Hank responded with a snarl and a challenging gleam in his eyes. All the damn woman had to do was say something in the wrong tone and Hank would gladly take her on, he was a feminist afterall and would have no issue going a round or two in hand to hand combat. 

“Hank,” Sera whispered from the seating area for those who wanted to bear witness but weren’t apart of the trial.

He turned around to face her while their prosecuting attorney spoke with Connor about their next options for fighting CyberLife. Their attorney, a young man with short blond hair and dark green eyes was Sera’s right hand, her closest disciple, and she had assigned him to them since she couldn’t sit in on the case herself as presiding judge due to her past with Hank. The young lawyer took all advice from her though and Sera often sat in on each trial, becoming just as aggravated as Hank at how long the proceedings were but she expected nothing less from an old man as the judge and sending such an esteemed defense attorney from CyberLife giving the court the run around on semantics and trying to settle out by claiming that CyberLife granting Connor freedom from his duties to their institution should be ‘good enough’ for them.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Hank started immediately as he stepped closer to talk quietly with the red-haired judge and close personal friend. “What’s worse is that…” he looked over his shoulder at Connor to make sure he wasn’t paying attention then lowered his voice even more, “Glenn said that it’s getting worse, his regulator is corroding from the inside out from the damage. Something he can’t fix.”

Sera gasped softly and reached out to touch her fingertips to the outside of Hank’s wrist. “Hank, I’m sorry…”

He swallowed thickly and nodded. “If we don’t win this case, Sera, he’s gonna die.”

“Well, CyberLife is starting to run out of options and the public opinion is in support of Android Rights, I think what we need to do is make a public campaign for Connor. If we can get The People to rally around him, I’m sure CyberLife will cave- they’re in hot water as it is,” she said and offered a tight smile.

“Then why the hell are they giving us such a fucking hard time ‘bout giving him a new heart?” He whispered harshly, his upper lip curling and fists clenching.

“It’s about control from them. They stand to lose a lot more than their reputation on this deviancy issue.”

Hank huffed and rolled his eyes. “Unbelievable. You’d think that they would be happy enough to make money off of the parts they would make for androids-”

She shook her head adamantly. “No, they wouldn’t, Hank. Per the new amendment those parts are to be free for any android that needs them. They are losing money like air in a vacuum with no new revenue coming back in. It’s like blood transfusions and organ transplants for humans, hospitals are required to keep a person alive in emergency situations and insurance covers the rest. CyberLife can’t charge for those.”

“So, what’s their plan then?”

“They’re still arguing that androids are not a real form of life, they’re trying to lift the amendment and reinstate their dominance over them as machines and not intelligent life. That’s why they’re not giving up on Connor, if they do then they are admitting to the fact that he’s more than a machine.”

Hank’s eyes flashed with rage and he clenched his jaw. “He is.”

“I know that, you know that, but the judge doesn’t,” she replied and glanced at Connor and her mentee coming over to join them and straightened up, a small smile offered to them both. “Good work, boys,” she complimented on their ability to create an empathy for Connor’s situation during the testimonies. “I’m going to try to get some dirt on the magistrate, I’ve got some strings I can pull, maybe get a mistrial and start this over with a judge that will be more lenient to our side.”

Connor smiled at her and nodded. “Thank you, Sera.”

She winked at him then motioned for the prosecutor, Max, to follow. “Mhmm,” she said and then touched the side of Hank’s head with her fingertips, the sides and back now cut close with only the top of his hair cut a little longer to style it to one side. “Love the haircut, by the way, keep it forever,” she said and left with one last touch to Hank’s elbow before leaving with her number two.

Once Sera and Max were out of the courtroom, leaving Hank and Connor alone, Connor looked over to Hank and smirked a little. “She likes you.”

“Huh?” Hank asked in an obnoxious tone, his upper lip turned up in one corner, while he turned to look at him.

“Sera, she likes you. Her pupils dilate when she’s around you and her heart rate increases by--”

“Ah-ah-ah!” Hank waggled his finger and fixed Connor with a firm look. “That ship has come and gone.”

Connor narrowed his eyes and tilted his head a little to the right, following Hank when the man started to walk them out to the lobby. “But, Hank,” he started, using his first name in public whereas the more intimate name for him, ‘Dad’, was reserved for their time at home or when no one was around, “you display the same reactions.”

The elder detective groaned and rolled his eyes epically as they left the courthouse to go down the front steps leading to Main Street where there were protesters to both the right and left side of the stone staircase. To their left were android and human protesters advocating for equal rights and freedom whereas the ones to their right were anti-android humans demanding that all deviants be shut down permanently, with no non-deviant androids to replace them either. Outside was loud with shouting and chanting that piled onto the typical sounds of a bustling city street with all the cars speeding by, chattering people on phones, crying babies, and the beeping of crosswalk signals. Still, it was a nice, spring day with bright blue skies and white puffy clouds and neither Hank or Connor intended to let the protests get in the way of their lighter conversation, neither of them up for talking about the case when it seemed so bleak.

While Hank went on a grumbling rant about why he and Sera hadn’t worked out, even though it was clear they had chemistry, Connor looked to their right to see a hotdog cart abnormally further up on the sidewalk than usual, a large commercial truck parked where the cart would typically be. His eyes twitched into a squint as he scanned the area and did some calculations for potential reasons why it would be there and what was inside but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He was still suspicious and started to preconstruct possibilities for some of the people milling around in odd places but they all seemed to be his own worst case scenarios and hardly realistic, if onl--

“-nor? Connor! Are you even paying attention to me?”

“Ahm,” Connor said and glanced at Hank as they took the first few steps on the other side of the street where they had parked his car. He had been so focused on analyzing the scene that he hadn’t realized they had already pass the protests on either side, jaywalked across the four lane street, and crossed into the parking lot parallel the courthouse. Hesitating in continuing their walk to the car, Connor opened his mouth to express his concerns that something was amiss when there was a massive explosion from behind them, opposed to his assumption that it would be a street bomb to maim the human protestors, and threw them down to the pavement from the shockwave, debris and dust pelting them as Connor covered Hank’s head with his body. When the initial explosion ended, Connor and Hank both sat up and got to their feet to look at the damage to the courthouse while the surviving protester’s, and other bystanders, scattered and screamed in terror but Hank could hardly hear it anymore, it sounded like muted buzzing in comparison to the high pitched ringing in his ears from tinnitus.

He blinked with great effort to try to get rid of the shakiness in his vision, his right palm pressed forcefully against his right temple to stave off the massive migraine he was getting while Connor tried to talk to Hank, to get him to respond, but the best he could do was see that Connor’s lips were moving and his brown eyes wide with trepidation. Connor was covered in pale gray dust with some smears of blue where debris had cut into his skin and revealed some of the alloy underneath, his hair was matted with the heavy filth and made his hair look more white than brown- Hank assumed he looked no better.

Behind Connor, Hank looked at the crumbling structure they had been inside just moments ago. All of the windows were blown out, the entire front side missing to reveal the individual floors of the three story building, and much of it looked so unstable there was a risk of secondary collapse. Bodies littered the ground as even the steps to the courthouse were damaged, many protester's on both sides were either maimed or killed in the explosion and those who survived were either in shock, running for their lives, or cradling bodies either alive or dead. It was total chaos but the first thing out of Hank’s mouth was, “Sera…”

Connor finally stopped shouting to get Hank to meet his gaze and turned to look over his shoulder at the damaged building that threatened to completely collapse any moment. He scanned it and all the specific support beams and where there were more targeted, unstable areas then compared it to the path he would take to get to Sera’s office on the second floor. After a quick preconstruction of how to implement his search, he made a decision and turned back to Hank. “I’ll find her,” he said and met Hank’s gaze which finally flicked to look into his eyes. “Stay here.”

“Wha- Connor, no!” Hank reached for him but Connor was faster and was already running inside. “Connor!”

By the time Hank had started chasing after him, barely making it to the stairs, Connor had disappeared into the settling dust and small fires that had yet to extinguish. As he tried to decide whether to chase after the brave android or help the victims around the sidewalk, he turned his head to look at the android and supporting human side to see Markus emerge from the smoke that was already choking out the warm sun and blue skies. Hank’s expression turned stone cold and he pivoted on his heel to stomp up to him, grabbing the front of the android leader’s trenchcoat and slammed him against the side of a parallel parked car. “You son of a bitch! You did this?!”

Markus’s eyes went wide and he shook his head adamantly from side to side. “No! I didn’t, I swear!” He kept his hands raised, arms out to his sides to show he had nothing to hide and that he was entirely at Hank’s mercy. “But I think I know who did…”

**///**

**Markus**

Hank’s expression did not falter after he admitted that he might know who set off the bomb but it didn’t get worse either, so he continued. “I was on my way here to talk to you and Connor about North. We still haven’t heard from her but we picked up some chatter and-- I… I’m sorry, I was too late.”

“One of your people did this?!” Hank shouted, his eyes having been glued to reading Markus’s lips, likely suffering temporary hearing loss from the explosion. All around them was loud brown noise of people screaming and sirens blaring in the distance on their way to help and stabilize the situation. “Why?”

“You know why. I just never expected her to go this far-- or for the attack to be  _ here _ !” He looked to the left to see all the people suffering and dying on the anti-android side and a part of him felt a sense of pride when he saw deviant androids and supporting humans go over to help them and vice versa, maybe there was hope yet. Still, a flash of confusion passed over his features and he pressed his lips together in a grim line before turning to meet Hank’s furious gaze again. “I expected the attack to be against anti-android groups but not one that hurt both sides… and certainly not a political statement against the courts.”

Hank shoved against his chest which was really just a forceful push against an immovable object to make a statement of anger. “Damnit, Markus! When did you--”

The courthouse creaked and moaned, a few sections of the outside wall and the second and third floor started to crumble and shift and Hank stopped his angry rant before it could even start as he looked up at the collapsing, domed roof of the building. As Hank moved to run inside, likely in an attempt to save Connor, Markus grabbed his arm to keep him from going inside. 

“Hank, don’t, the integrity of the structure is only nine percent, if you--”

“Let go of me-- _let go_!” Hank shouted and shook his arm free. He managed to take three steps forward before the building had a secondary collapse, what support there was structurally so badly damaged that the weight was too much to bear. The debris, dust, and smoke spilled out like guts and sucked the oxygen out of the air, leaving Hank to stumble back away and cover his mouth and nose in the crook of his arm, eyes blinking rapidly while Markus moved through, unaffected, and pulled him back to the opposite side of the street for safety. “Connor!”

Markus stared at the nearly leveled building, only a little remained standing, the rest of the structure moaning with the strain of it. The others around them became just noise in the background, even a fighting, struggling Hank in his arms was no longer audible as he focused in on the details of life from inside the building and found next to none closest to them, there was a possibility that those at the back of the courthouse had survived, even evacuated by now but anyone in the initial blast zone had likely perished or was trapped so far beneath rubble that he couldn’t find them.

The emergency crew finally arrived on scene and the Fire Chief started to bark orders on where he wanted his firefighters to go and how to stabilize the situation when many of the deviants approached and offered their assistance but were turned down by a furious staff that were already blaming all androids for the violence without consideration for alternative culprits. All bystanders were pushed back, including himself and Hank, who was still shouting for Connor. The fight in the old man was waning and his voice became hoarse, his struggle against Markus’s unbreakable hold becoming weak as the reality that Connor had been lost to the collapse, or perhaps fire, or some other unknown fate was beginning to take hold and sink in with Hank and it was depairing to watch the stubbornness completely fade from him, his shoulders slumping and head hung in misery. “No…” Hank breathed, closing his eyes and finally dropping his arms, Markus doing the same so he could have his space to accept the loss.

Neither of them could bear to look at the building anymore, Hank’s gaze finally looking around at the destruction around them, the loss of life in the streets and the weight of death implied by the explosion inside the courthouse while Markus watched the movement of rescue workers and firefighters putting out what fires had been started. With their current distraction, both were startled out of separate abstractions by the booming voice of the chief, “we gotta survivor!”

Hank immediately jolted to move forward and meet the figure but stopped before his first foot lifted off the ground, the survivor was a woman, covered in dust and soot, red seeping from both deep and shallow abrasions on her skin, and her clothes torn from whatever she had crawled out of. Though the discovery of life of another was one to be celebrated, Markus could literally see the defeat in Hank’s posture but also the look of resolve in his eyes that it was time that he did his job, that he helped others afflicted by this. Just as Hank was turning away to go back over to where people were trying to comfort others or keep someone alive, Markus saw another figure emerge from the smoke and this one was a man, dressed in a suit, with dark, messy hair. “Hank…” he said softly and pointed up the stairs to the second, known survivor.

He turned around with a scowl etched into his features but it instantly relaxed into shock and restrained relief as he watched the male figure stumble a little, hand to his chest, while still looking out over the staircase. Before the rescue people could reach him, Hank was sprinting up the stairs, the Chief calling out to him to stop but Hank barreled through and ran to Connor, who nearly fell to his knees the moment Hank got his hands on his shoulders. Keeping him from falling, Hank pressed one hand to Connor’s chest while the other gripped his shoulder firmly. “Damnit, Connor--!”

“I-- I couldn’t get to her…” Connor whispered and started to lower himself to the ground. As Hank helped Connor go down at a steady pace, enveloped in his arms, Markus saw, for the first time, the internal damage done to Connor’s regulator from being shot.

_ Biocomponent #9480 <> Severe Damage _

Connor was close to dying.

A look of pain crossed over Hank’s face at learning of his friends fate, which was still unknown according to what Connor had to say even if the look of devastation on the android’s face was enough to tell all one needed to know. Still, Connor was the one right in front of them, suffering, with his hand clutching at his chest and his eyelids blinking rapidly as he neared a temporary shutdown. “I’m sorry, Dad…” Connor whispered, a moment between them that no one else could hear above all the noise around them, even if they were in public.

Hank shook his head stiffly. “No, no, no… shuddup. God, you fu-- … idiot… why?” He held Connor’s face between his palms and tried to force brown eyes to meet his blue ones. “Why would you do that?!”

“Sera is our friend… I had to help…” Connor replied sullenly, his voice shifting to a lower octave. “I tried…”

Shaking his head again, Hank appeared to be trying very hard not to shake Connor until his teeth rattled in his head, trying to get it through to the android that he was important too. “Connor, your heart…” he reminded through gritted teeth.

“Hank,” Markus interrupted, stepping closer to them and placing a gentle hand on the man’s shoulder as he looked to Connor, who glanced up at him in surprise and confusion. Before Connor could ask what he was doing there, Markus continued, “wherever you take him to get treated, you have to take him there now. His regulator is struggling to keep up with the demand for blood to his vital biocomponents…” Dire as his warning was, Connor seemed to disagree.

“N-No, I’m  _ *f1ne* _ ,” Connor said, his voice giving away his bluff but he remained stubborn. “I don’t need to see Glenn, just give me a * _mom3nt*_.”

Despite Connor’s insistence, just hearing the mechanical utterance of the words ‘fine’ and 'moment' was enough to push Hank over the edge and he hoisted Connor back onto his feet with Markus’s help. “Like hell you are, Son,” he snapped gruffly.

“People need our help!” Connor argued, his forehead wrinkled with how furrowed his brow was, his lips tugged into a deep frown.

“That’s what the EMT’s are for,” Hank countered and let Markus load Connor into the passenger seat of his car while he moved around to the driver’s side to take them to Glenn’s. Markus dropped into the backseat, directly behind Connor and closed the door just as Hank slammed his foot on the gas, rearing the car backwards out of the parking spot before speeding out onto the street and away from all the commotion. All three felt like they were abandoning a duty to the city, to the people by running away from the aftermath of such an explosion but Connor would fall victim as well if they didn’t get him help.

As they drove, Hank fell extraordinarily silent and Connor also quieted down, no longer arguing as he kept his eyes closed and clutched at his chest. Markus kept an eye on Connor’s stress levels and vitals of his pump regulator; his stress level staying steady at 65% while his regulator efficiency fluctuated between 20% to 33% -- his chance of survival dropping with every minute that passed that Connor didn’t have a regular source of power. Finally, after ten minutes of driving, Markus asked quietly, “how do you feel?”

There was a moment of hesitation from Connor before he responded as honestly and quietly as he could, his speech modulated and grating with mechanical failure, “ _ *My 0pt1cS are m4lfuNcti0n!ng, my Ch- ch3st huRtz, a-and… 1’m... sc4reD*...”  _ Hank seemed to snap out of whatever had his mind in another place when he heard Connor’s voice and looked to Connor with pure anguish on his face, fear in his eyes as he frowned at the apparent condition of his friend but Connor wasn’t done speaking. “ _ *Wh-why ar3 you here _ *? _ ” _

“I came to ask for your help, for both of your help, I think this was North--”

“* _ Wh* _ \--” Connor started but Hank cut him off by covering Connor’s hand with his own, right hand, driving with his left only.

“Why do you think it’s North,” Hank asked while dropping his hand back to 5 o’clock on the steering wheel, knowing that it was Connor’s next question.

Markus scooted over to the center of the back seat and leaned forward so his head was positioned between the front two, like they were all in a row, but he met Hank’s occasional glance in the rearview mirror for eye contact. “Josh has spies all around the city, unique models that no one can tell is an android because they are either older models, prototypes, or got so many adjustments that no one can tell they were ever part of an assembly line. A few of them overheard some CyberLife employees talking about a WR400 model and how they were aware of a violent protest being planned by her.”

“How the hell would they know about her plans?” Hank asked, sparing a glance in the mirror before turning left onto the side road that would take them to Glenn’s house. “Hold on, Connor, almost there…” he added softly.

“We don’t know. That’s why I was coming to talk to you, I think there’s more here than we realized,” he replied then did a check-up scan on Connor and his eyebrows instinctively pulled together in concern. “Hank, shutdown is in two minutes and thirty-eight seconds…”

Hank looked over at Connor, whose hand had fallen into his lap, head lolling over to one side. “Fuck,” he breathed.

**///**

**Hank**

One minute and twenty seconds later, he counted, they pulled into Glenn’s driveway only to find that the house was empty, Glenn’s car gone. “Fucking hell,” Hank cursed. “Grab him, I’ll get the door open!”

As they finally broke into the house, Markus started to give him a countdown of how long they had before Connor died. Though it was helpful, it only added to Hank’s constant stress and made his hand shake. He ordered the deviant leader to lay Connor on the bed while he started up the machine that would keep Connor from dying and pulled out the necessary wires to clip into the hole where his regulator would go. Connor’s body was limp and with every movement Markus made to lay him down, his head would list side to side, his limbs dead weight flopping in whichever direction Markus changed-- he looked dead already.

“Twelve seconds, Hank…” Markus said grimly.

“Pull out his thing!”

Markus did as he was told and as soon as Connor’s ruined regulator was removed, Hank inserted the clips and attached the wires in record time, considering, and then flipped the switch on the CyberLife branded life support machine just as Markus announced that the shutdown was imminent. Hank watched with bated breath and tears in his eyes as the lights in Connor’s chest faded into nothing, no longer blinking with life. When a few moments passed with no response from Connor, Hank looked up at Markus in desperation, his eyes wide and mouth ajar but Markus avoided his gaze, his eyebrows pinched together so tightly they nearly formed one.

“No…” Hank whispered and his glistening eyes became darker as tears spilled and rolled down his face. He moved his hand to cradle the top of Connor’s head, his thumb caressing his brow as he gazed down at his surrogate son. “Please, Connor, you sonofabitch, wake up. You can’t do this to me…” When there was still no reaction, Hank sunk down onto the stool beside the bed and grabbed Connor’s hand to hold between both of his, lowering his head to rest against Connor’s limp fingers. “No.”

A silent moment passed and Hank had no idea if Markus was still there on the other side of the bed, didn’t know if he too was morning the loss of Connor, but then he snapped his head up, apparently simultaneously with Markus, with equal amounts of surprise, when a familiar voice greeted them with, “Dad?”

Glassy blue eyes met dark brown as Connor looked back at him with confusion etched into his features. “Holy shit, Connor! Damnit! Why do you keep doing this to me?!” Though his tone was harsh his expression was anything but; filled with relief and joy instead. He dropped Connor’s hand and stood up to frame his face with his palms, forcing Connor to exclusively look at him. “Connor, Son, are you okay?”

The confused look on his face didn’t fade but Connor nodded a little into his hands and frowned. “I… I think so? What… what happened? Did something go wrong with the checkup?” Hank glanced up at Markus, who tilted his head in question, getting the feeling he missed something before he returned his gaze to Connor, who was now jolting with surprise at seeing Markus there. Now even more confused, Connor looked around the room as Hank dropped his hands away to rest on the edge of the bed and realized that Glenn was nowhere to be found. “What is going on?’

“What’s the last thing you remember, Son?”

“Ahm,” Connor’s nose scrunched up, his brow wrinkling, as his thought about it with a great amount of concentration, realizing that there was more to remember than he actually did as he tried to force the memories to come back. Eventually the kid gave up with a dejected, frustrated sigh and shook his head-- knowing he had failed to conjure up the short term memory. “The latest check up with Glenn, March 15th.”

Hank inhaled for seven seconds and exhaled for four, breathing exercises that Connor insisted on to reduce his knee-jerk reactions. When he felt his response would not be overly dramatic, Hank replied; “Okay, Connor, alright… that’s okay.”

Except that it didn’t feel okay.

Just as Connor opened his mouth to respond, Glenn jumped dramatically over the threshold between the kitchen and his operating room with a gun drawn and his eyes unusually wide as he prepared to shoot whatever intruder had broken into his home. When he realized it was Hank and Connor, he visibly relaxed, dropping his gun but not putting it away as he calmly asked, “who is that?”

Hank indicated to Markus and raised an eyebrow in question of a clarification even though he obviously knew who Glenn was referring to, which Glenn did not appreciate.

“Yes him,” Glenn specified, still extremely even toned and calm.

“My name is Markus…”

Hank gestured widely with his arm in a sort of ‘ta-da’ while Connor nodded confirmation. “He’s the deviant leader,” Hank informed, “-don’t you watch the news, you hermit? Markus, Glenn.”

Now that Glenn was fully clear on who everyone was and introductions had been made, Glenn’s calm facade instantly fell and he pointed the gun at Hank again. “You fucking asshole, what the hell is wrong with you!? Breaking in here like a common criminal?! I coulda shot you! You couldn’t’ve called?! Who--” he dropped his gun again as he noted the fried regulator in Markus’s hand and finally seemed to notice the dusty, soot covered appearance of both Hank and Connor. “What the hell happened?”

With great reluctance, Hank explained the situation for Connor and Glenn to hear for the first time, both of them with wide eyes though Connor had a more mournful expression when he learned of Sera and why he had been in such mortal danger. While Connor processed the new information, his eyes darting back and forth as he gazed blankly at his hands clasped in his lap, Glenn became much more angry.

“Hank! I told you, I  _ warned _ you, about his condition worsening,” he scolded and walked around the other side of the bed to  snatch the regulator out of Markus’s hand like a parent does a child holding something more fragile than they could ever understand before maturing.

“Can you fix it,” Hank asked, his voice gruff but small, eyes filled with timid hope and apprehension.

Glenn turned to face him again, having started for his workbench, already pulling out his bifocals while setting the gun down on the counter. “I don’t know,” he replied honestly, gaining Connor’s helpless gaze to fall on him once again.

A knock at the front door had all four men turning their attention to the white curtain that separated the kitchen from his secret operating room with guarded expressions and hard gazes. When Glenn reached a gloved hand for his gun again, Hank waved him off and pulled out his own sidearm with practiced ease, Markus doing it with the same amount of grace as they both started for the kitchen. Markus held the curtain back, making minimal sound while Hank walked underneath, his pistol pointing to the floor while he stalked towards the door like a stealthy predator, not a sound made from his footsteps. Once both Markus and himself had reached the door, Hank grabbed the door handle and stood behind the door, ready to pull it open with his right hand still holding the gun and left grasping the knob. On the count of three, Hank mouthing the words, the detective wrenched the door open while Markus stood ready with the gun pointing in the chest area of anyone standing on the porch but the android completely froze at who he saw standing there.

His eyes wide, Markus began to lower his weapon as he stared at the person who had knocked on the door. Curious and confused, Hank peeked around the edge of the door and saw a woman with long, braided, blond hair pulled over one shoulder staring back at Markus as if he were the only person left in the world. She offered a weak, tired smile and bit the inside of her lip nervously. “Hey,” she greeted softly.

“North…” Markus whispered in response and Hank’s eyes went comically wide, his eyebrows raising high on his forehead moments before his expression shifted to one of raw fury; pinched eyebrows, hard eyes, and stiff upper lip as he raised his gun to point at her head.

 

**Author's Note:**

>  **trigger warning** _graphic depictions of violence in form of a bombing_
> 
>  
> 
> **///**  
> 
> 
> Comments are always welcome and appreciated and I will gladly take heat for the North "turning" thing (although, to be fair, you were warned).
> 
>  _Anyway, thank you so much for reading and supporting this story-- again, I'm overwhelmed by the love._
> 
> And stay tuned for the conclusion in part three! *dun, dun, dun*
> 
> Xoxo


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